Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Really good red velvet cupcakes are elusive to many. Some are dry, some are TOO fake-red red. And what’s the story behind red velvet cake (and cupcakes) anyway? After doing a little research, I found that while foods were rationed during war time, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes and to retain moisture. Red velvet cake was a signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel during the 1920s, and was also well-known in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton’s department store chain in Canada during the 1940s and 1950s. Many attribute the cake’s recent popularity to the film Steel Magnolias, in which the groom’s cake was a red velvet cake in the shape of an armadillo. All red velvet cakes have specific ingredients in common: white vinegar, buttermilk and baking soda; the reaction of the vinegar to the buttermilk is said to better reveal the red in the cocoa powder. I wasn’t always sold on red velvet, but I was eventually converted…

So now, on to my history with red velvet. I first tried it almost a year ago (January, to be specific) at a local Pittsburgh bakery. And to say that I was underwhelmed would be a gross understatement. After all of the buzz that red velvet had been receiving, I was expecting to be blown away. What I ate was pretty dry and tasteless (although the cream cheese frosting was good!). I wasn’t impressed (obviously) and it was about six months before I would try one again. During our little Georgetown cupcake tour, I had a red velvet cupcake from Baked and Wired. It was seriously amazing. It changed my mind about red velvet – it was fluffy, moist, with a hint of chocolate, and was all kinds of delicious. I had been converted.

The next step, of course, was to make a great one at home. I was admittedly stalling a bit but thanks to some of you who emailed me asking why in the world there wasn’t a recipe for red velvet cupcakes on my site (which is an absolutely legit question), I got my butt in gear. I did some reading, I looked at a lot of recipes, and in the end I decided to try this one. And I’m so glad I did, because I don’t think a better one could exist. They are everything I was hoping for – moist, fluffy, a tiny bit chocolatey, and a perfect vehicle for a heaping pile of cream cheese frosting!

Good any time of year, especially around Valentine’s Day. Dress ’em up with some pink and red sprinkles and share them with your sweetie!

Directions:

2. On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

3. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

5. Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center of the largest cupcake comes out clean.

7. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

8. To make the frosting: Using the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

646 Responses to “Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting”

i made these they taste great. i added 1 tsp baking soda and 1 teaspoon vanilla. very tasty, and fluffy but not moist. if your looking for a moist cupcake this is not it, but great recipe, its soft and fluffy. day three is the last day to truly enjoy them, best when eaten the day of. im a professional baker take my word for it!

Tracey, You really can’t omit the white vinegar – it is a crucial component because of the chemical reaction that occurs between it and the buttermilk, as well as the dark cocoa powder. It will definitely change the taste and the texture. You can’t taste the vinegar in the finished product, but it is a very important component.

Thanks michelle! what about if i would like the chocolate taste to be stronger, can i add more cocoa powder? if yes, how much more cocoa powder is recommended to be added? will it cause the end result to become less fluffy and moist? Thanks again!

I wish I had read this comment earlier today. I just took a guess at baking mini cupcakes and had them in the oven for about 14-18 minutes. They just taste doughy and not like a light, fluffy red velvet mini cupcake.

these look delicious! can i double this recipe to make 2 layers (2 9-inch cakes) in cake pans? i always used to use a recipe at pinchmysalt but i thought this one looked better, is the cream cheese frosting really sweet?

Yes, you can double and make a two layer cake. I find asking if frosting is really sweet or too sweet to be totally subjective, since one person may find it to be too sweet, and someone else may not. I think this frosting is the perfect balance of tang from the cream cheese and sweet from the sugar.

Hi, I haven’t had any luck with cream cheese frosting. Every time I attempt, it ends up being a runny mess, not looking anything like yours and I follow the directions completely. What might be the problem? Thank you! I am loving the cupcake and all of your recipes.

Hi, I made these, followed the recipe to the tee and they came out a dark brown like chocolate cupcake mixture. So odd… the batter was a fairly vivd browny red before it went into the oven, and they’re not remotely burnt. I wonder what can have happened. They’re still delicious, but they ain’t red velvet!

Made this as my second attempt at baking cupcakes and I’ve got them cooling off now. Sadly, they don’t have that nice, deep red colour, I suppose using gel food colouring and Van Houten (i.e. Dutch Processed) cocoa is to blame. I was hesitant to use too much of the food colouring given how potent gel-based ones usually are, but I guess they’re better suited to icing and fondant than a large batch of brown cake batter. :]

Hi, I have seen various red velvet cupcake recipes and they all seem to have baking powder as one of the ingredients, which your recipe doesn’t have. Is baking powder not required for the cake to rise?

Hi Sawsan,
Baking powder is typically a mixture of baking soda (alkaline) and an acidifier (plus starch to buff up the volume). In this recipe, vinegar is used to help bring out the red colour in (non-Dutch processed) chocolate and also serves as the acidifier. As such, if you were to use baking powder instead of baking soda, the final mixture may be too acidic, which is why this recipe lists baking soda, not the powder. The baking soda and acid in the vinegar (and buttermilk) will react together to produce carbon dioxide, producing a leavening effect and neutralising eachother. I hope that answers your question. :]

I tried this recipe today and am very happy with the results! Somehow I could only made 10 cupcakes, but it was not a big deal. A few changes I made were; I added a little bit of canola oil (1/8 cup or less) because this recipe called for the least amount of butter than any other recipes that I found online, and I had to skip the vinegar because I don’t keep white vinegar in my pantry and I didn’t wanna buy it… I’m not sure what vinegar does, but I am very happy with how my cupcakes tasted. They were moist, fluffy, slightly chocolaty, in a word, delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipes as well as the stunning pictures of your cupcakes! They are very inspiring!

Hi michelle, was wondering if the reaction of the baking soda and vinegar to making a fluffy cupcake works when with all chocolate cupcake recipe? as if im not wrong the it will only take effect with cocoa powder?
thanks!

another question, that is if the chocolate cupcake recipe I’m using calls for baking powder but it doesn’t rise much and it’s not fluffy, can I substitute baking powder with the baking soda+vinegar ? thanks!!

Hi Nel, That would be a good experiment, I’ve never done it so I couldn’t say for sure if that would solve the problem (independent of changing anything about the other ingredients), but if you give it a try I’d love to hear how it works!

Yeah sure! sorry for another question, if i want the cupcake to rise more do I add more powder soda/baking powder? or what should I do to make it rise more? (let’s say if the temperate of oven is correct)
thanks!

There is no hard and fast rule; it all depends on the specific recipe, what other ingredients are involved, etc. Both baking soda and baking powder create rise, but also interact with other ingredients. So basically yes, the cupcakes should rise more with more leavening, but sometimes it takes playing around with other ingredients to get it right.

WoW!
Firstly, thanks for a fab website! Secondly, I have never eaten red velvet before so I made these tonight for Halloween tomorrow…. OMG, they are seriously amazing. I had to use weight conversions as I am in the UK, but they turned out perfectly. Instead of buttermilk, I added 2 tbsp of lemon juice to 110ml of semi-skimmed milk and that worked well. I used 70g plain flour and 70g self raising and 1/4 tsp pf baking powder. Other than that, I was true to the recipe.
Only one thing – my cakes sank away from the cases a little after – any ideas? Maybe my oven wasn’t hot enough?
Thanks again!
Moo

Hi Moo, I know some people have this separation problem frequently and I still haven’t been able to really figure out what causes it. Some people say there could be a greasy coating on the liner and might cause it in certain brands.

Thanks – it was really weird, it was as if my cakes ‘shrank’ in the cases. I will try the recipe again and use plain paper cases I think. I used slightly bigger muffin cases, as I think UK fairy cake cases give measly portions! Anyway, thanks again – I’m going to try your tiramisu recipe next … how did you get that gorgeous topping on?

I do a lot of baking, however, this is my first time making a cupcake from scratch. I had a couple of problems.
1. Cupcakes were dry and tops were slightly crunchy. I think the 20 mt bake time was too long. Probably should have starting checking around 14-15 mts.
2. Cupcakes were a little salty! I used unsalted butter and followed the ingredients and method exactly. I wonder if the buttermilk added to the saltiness? I used Borden buttermilk. Next time will have to cut down on salt.
Overall pretty good though! And the cream cheese frosting was YUMMY!
Thanks for inspiring me to be creative with my baking!

Hi,I’m from Holland, the first time I had a red velvet cupcakes was in New York from Eleni’s! They were delicious:D. So my question is, how many grams or milimeter are your tablespoons and teaspoons. I so want to try these, but measurements can be off sometimes and I don’t want to screw them up;)

I made these for a farewell potluck at work yesterday and they disappeared in minutes! As each one disappeared, I received a multitude of “OMG best RV cupcakes EVER!” Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

Any chance you can put the equivalent of the “cup” measurements in grams in the recipe (cake + icing)? And what does the 350 degrees F equate to in Celcius (C)? It would really be helpful, as like you I too have been converted and now want to make them at home! I have to!

Hi Stella, I don’t currently have the measurements in grams for this recipe (I am working to include these on all recipes, but this one doesn’t have it yet) so unfortunately you’ll just have to use the Google conversion calculator. For instance, if you type in “1 cup = ? grams” it should spit out the conversion. 350 degrees is about 177 degrees Celsius. Here is the conversion equation for Fahrenheit to Celsius: C = 5/9 (F-32)

I am definitely going to be trying these for my best friend’s birthday! She loves red velvet, I hope they turn out ok. Do you suggest trying to make them prior to first time to make sure they come out ok? I’m not exactly a fan of red velvet – so I wouldn’t really know what to do with them all. I’d probably eat them all anyway.

Hi Emily, If you are nervous about the recipe and think you would have more peace of mind, you could make them ahead of time. That being said, these turned out perfectly for me from the very first batch.

i am baking these cupcakes as we speak and damn they are marvelous. i have not yet made the frosting but the cupcakes are amazingly moist, flavourful and fluffy. I actually substituted the buttermilk for regular 2% milk and a tablespoon of regular white vinegar and made a mistake by doubling the milk to 1 cup rather than the called for 1/2 cup. surprisingly it still turned out tasty and not bland from the dilution of milk but i personally am not into a sugar packed mouthful explosion (tastes like an asian bakery cake). i was thinking of just doubling the recipe at the time but took the chance to see how it went and no regrets thankfully. anyways, just want to say koodoos to the creator of the recipe. awesome stuff. keep it up.

Hi Michelle, I’m currently in the process of making these wonderful cupcakes, I decided to make a double the batch to make 24 to fill my cupcake stand and cut down on half a cup of sugar since my family doesn’t like cakes which are too sweet (plus i plan to make the frosting as per recipe instead of cutting down on the sugar like I usually do). The first batch of 12 came out nicely, perfectly moist and not at all heavy – which made me extremely happy :)) the only problem I’m having with them is that they are not even when they are baking…they seems to all have risen wonky – more towards one side, and not at all on the opposite side. What could be the reason for this? I didnt use paper patty pans but silicon cupcake moulds instead, just scooped it right into the mould without any lining, could this have possibly contributed to crookedness? :/ Or the reduced sugar maybe…?
Anyhow, ill just hide it all behind a nice thick layer of frosting and everything’s all better 😀

I tried your recipe i cant tell you how delicious is it .. It’s the best red velvet ever .. Congratulation you r the best cooker .. I want to tell you i ‘am from saudi arabia your recipe got there and my family like it and love it … Ohhhhhhhh i love you too for this recip iam so glad to find you and your recipe ..

Hi Shiri, You definitely do not want to use balsamic vinegar in these. The white vinegar has a neutral flavor and is used to interact with the leaving agent and buttermilk. Balsamic has a very strong flavor that will come through.

Hi Rebecca, Right now I do not have the ability to convert everything into grams, but if there is a particular ingredient you need converted, please see the Conversions page (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/conversions/) for measurement equivalents and a link to the KAF weight chart. You can use a combination of those to calculate grams, or type into Google for a conversion.

Hi Sue, I do not use meringue powder in any of my icings except for royal icing, however the recipe as written does make a cream cheese frosting stiff enough to be piped. Did you use reduced fat cream cheese? If so, that could be the problem. It does not have enough fat (and has too much water) for frostings, which is what can cause it to be so soft and droopy.

Thank you! I am a big fan of this recipe and looking forward to try more of your recipes. I made cupcakes for a bridal shower and a cake for a 21st birthday! Both occasions, everyone loved it! Just thought you would like to know

OMG! Never made one…never tried one; nevertheless I volunteered to make these for a birthday.

Thought the recipe was too red. Thought there wasn’t enough batter. Double checked the ingredients few times; did I forget something? Dipped my finger to taste before they were baked. No big deal, I said. I hope they are good.

I THOUGHT WRONG!!! The recipe is perfect proportion, the perfect sweetness, the perfect taste. They are amazing! They were a huge hit and the birthday girl wouldn’t share the extras!!! LOL

I just made these cupcakes last Saturday….they are so good and moist. I had a different recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes, but there is no comparison!. The cream cheese icing was absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing!!!!

I really love cupcakes and baking, in general but I am a Jain and I don’t eat eggs. Can you tell me what different substitutes I can use? And 1 egg= how much of that substitute. Will it make any difference in the taste?

Since I don’t like using a lot of red food coloring, when I doubled the recipe to make 2 dozen cupcakes I only used 5 tablespoons; as a result, the paste was not as pasty but still turned the batter a lovely red. I would also recommend only 1/2 Tbs. of vanilla extract when doubling the recipe as well because otherwise the tang of the cream cheese is completely masked by the alcoholic taste of the extract (I use Mexican vanilla). But these cupcakes go by FAST!

Just wanted to tell you that I made these cupcakes tonight and it was a big hit with my family!! I’m sooooo happy that it came out so moist n tasted perfect with the icing!!! I even got compliments to open up my own bakery. LOL! Thank you thank you thank you for sharing this recipe!!

Just a small feedback though, even though I followed the icing recipe to the note, I had ALOT of icing left (almost a 2 cups). Also I would consider a bit more cream cheese for a slightly more cheesy flavour.

HOW did you get your frosting that way? i did everything exactly according to recipe and its more liquid than vanilla pudding. And everyone suggest something different: too much sugar, not enough sugar, beat more, beat less, take out the vanilla (bit late for that now, thanks). Help is much appreciated.

Hello from Thailand!
I made these today and it was amazing. It was a kind of texture that I had never encountered before, super moist yet light and fluffy.
The only problem I had was with the food color. I am guessing “3 tablespoons of red food coloring” doesn’t work with every brand because here, that is a whole bottle of coloring and I could taste the color and my tongue was stained red haha. I suggest you check your instructions and calculate how much to put accordingly. If anyone has figured out the ratio for Gel food coloring (like Wilton’s) please do share with us.
Thank you so much!
-Marisabel

Hi I found the same thing with flavour of the liquid food colouring. I used paste, but I guess it could work for gel, and mixed it with the buttermilk until it was very dark red (roughly 1tsp to 1.5tsp of red paste) I submitted a post too if you want to read

Do the cupcakes need to be refrigerated soon because of the cream cheese frosting? I want to make these cupcakes in a mason jar for my daughters teachers and want to be sure the frosting will not melt.

Hi Michelle, As long as your house isn’t too hot (not above 72 degrees) or humid, you can leave them at room temperature for a day or so. If it will be longer than that, or if your home is on the warm side, I would refrigerate them.